Students who attend for-profit colleges have comparable and often higher retention and graduation rates than those at other institutions, according to the findings of a study released on Wednesday by the Imagine America Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides research and support for career colleges.
Advocates of for-profit colleges point to the study's results as further evidence of the sector's relevance within higher education.
"The education community cannot and should not ignore this sector of higher education, because it will play an increasingly important role in our nation's ability to retool and prepare for increased competition from Asia and other areas," said Watson Scott Swail, president and chief executive of the Educational Policy Institute and the project's principal investigator. The institute conducted the study for the foundation.
"The world is changing, and globalization requires us to explore other options for postsecondary education," he said.
Using data from the U.S. Department of Education, the study analyzes how career-colleges' students fare, compared with those at public and nonprofit institutions, in terms of retention and degree attainment.
The study concluded that at the two-year level, career colleges have higher full-time and part-time retention rates than other sectors. For example, 72 percent of full-time students at two-year career colleges return the next academic year, compared with 57 percent of those at public two-year institutions and 68 percent at private, nonprofit two-year institutions.
For part-time students, retention levels were lower: At two-year career-colleges, the rate was 60 percent, compared with 42 percent at public institutions and 56 percent at private institutions.
At the less-than-two-year level, the retention rates of students at career colleges, public institutions, and private institutions are similar. Three quarters of full-time career-college students return the following year, as do 71 percent of part-time students.
The figure for full- and part-time students at public institutions at the less-than-two-year level is 77 and 69 percent, respectively. At private institutions, 79 percent of full-time students and 67 percent of part-time students returned the following year.
In regard to program-completion rates, the study found that at the two-year level, career colleges have the highest graduation rate—59 percent—compared with only 23 percent at public two-year institutions. Private two-year institutions graduate 55 percent of their students.
Robert L. Martin, president of the Imagine America Foundation, said the study confirms that career colleges are doing a good job at graduating trained workers. He is also heartened by the study's evidence that career-college students are doing well academically, considering the obstacles many of them face. Many are single parents, and most work full time and attend school part time.
But not everyone was impressed with the study's results.
"We have a very hard time squaring these numbers with the fact that for-profit students have the highest federal student-loan default rates, regrettably also coupled with shockingly high debt burdens that dwarf those of any sector," said David S. Baime, vice president for government relations at the American Association of Community Colleges.
A report on the study, "Graduating At-Risk Students: A Cross-Sector Analysis," is available by request from the Imagine America Foundation.
Comments
1. snysny - January 28, 2010 at 04:42 pm
Does a higher rate of retention at for-profits mean academic success on the part of the student? Unlikely,considering the standards (or lack of) at such institutions. Or does it mean commercial success on the part of the institution which does not lose the paying customer...If it is the latter, it seems that the title of this article "Study Points to Academic Success of Students Attending For-Profit Colleges" is misleading. Lower the bar, rise the price, but keep the student...the student later defaults on their loans with which they bought a worthless degree! Some success!
2. resource - January 28, 2010 at 05:50 pm
A problem is that for-profit institutions have a selfish interest in keeping students --- and failing the low performers does not further that interest. Admittedly, all institutions have an interest in retention, but at established not-for-profits this is somewhat balanced by tenure and the importance of reputation. However, it is important not to paint with a broad brush.
3. arrive2__net - January 28, 2010 at 10:26 pm
I'm thinking that this study will be thoroughly challenged, investigated, studied, examined etc. to see if the data really upholds this finding. If it does hold up under scutiny ... that's good news for for-profits. The scope and limitations of the study are not identified in the article. Did the study include all for profit colleges eligible for federal student loans, or only a subset? For-profit college do make significant efforts at student retention, the fact that students are the source of revenue no doubt is a big factor, none-the-less they do make a big effort at student retention... students who need those retention efforts will benefit from them. However I think the point raised by David S. Baime, noted in the article ... the point about student default rates ... is of great importance, because it seems to me that the education given should benefit the student enough that the student can pay his or her loans. However, if you check the Dept of Ed data you will find that for-profits do not have a monopoly on high rates of student default. There are a lot of public and nonprofits with high rates. It is also important to remember as "resource" suggested, that the study was broad as to cover many colleges, so there is a wide range of results. The same is true of public and non-profits, there is a range of performance, programs and standards. I hope critics of this study will request the free copy and check it out, does it uphold the conclusion? I'm hoping I will be reading about an attempt to replicate the study sometime soon in the Chronicle.
Bernard Schuster
Arrive2.net
4. drchachere - February 02, 2010 at 11:01 am
And let's not forget the fact that for-profits have a very narrow scope of academic program offerings relative to the public 2-year colleges. In the latter, many students attend for one class or just a few to advance in a particular career. This fact is always missing in the "program completion" statistics even though those students are "successful" with respect to their individual goals.
5. cmiles - February 02, 2010 at 11:36 am
One must question whether the retention is because some of the career colleges gain a committment from the student upfront for the full program in which enrolled. If the student has to commit and is obligated to pay the full amount for a program when they begin the program they are probably less likely to drop out. Whereas with a public college the student has to make a new committment every semester. If something occurs that makes attending school difficult it is easy for a student to drop out without incurring any additional expense.
6. director19 - February 02, 2010 at 03:16 pm
In reading the comments, it's reasonably easy to see that none of you have any idea what happens in a proprietary school. Some of what everyone alludes to is almost correct.
Yes, default rates are higher in our schools. However, our population is the lower end of the success ladder. They have little in terms of money or expectations. We give them hope and skills that will, ultimately help them become successful in their life. While they don't always get top dollar, they get started on a successful journey. In their world, defaulting is acceptable. Unfortunately, the feds never give up tring to collect--they're good at that!
Also, there is no way to gain an entire course commitment form any student. Everystate and every accreditation agency, mandates that every school publish a refund policy. Proprietary colleges cannot be more restrictive tha the State policy. If a student drops, their funds are returned per policy.
The real reason student choose proprietary colleges is that we really do a better job in providing the nurturing atmosphere that our students require. They cannot be in classrooms with 100 to 250 other students. Small is better. In my college, every teacher knows their student's names and much about their family.
When our students graduate, we work with them to ensure they get meaningful career positions. Does every proprietary school do this--pretty much. Do community colleges and universities do this--not much.
Bottom line is if you don't know what you're talking about, don't.
7. davehamilton - February 03, 2010 at 07:18 am
Well I do know, I have spent years teaching at a for-profit. Each day teachers were to call students who were absent, students services also called them .. the whole focus was keeping them, not education. Many students were retained but made very little progress, just using the college as a place you had to be. Adding their living expenses on to their student loan meant they didn't have to work. Many end up maxing out student loans, owing more than $50K but making little progress. Some do make it, only to find jobs stocking shelves; its very difficult to repay $40-50K in students loands with an AA degree in business earning minimum wage.
8. shaolinbruce - February 04, 2010 at 11:34 pm
You know, I get tired of reading articles with deceptive headlines and deceptive reporting. Either the authors or the The Chronicle think we are dumber than we look, or the authors or The Chronicle are incapable of critical thinking. Higher retention rates and graduation rates are NOT EQUIVALENT to academic success, much less career success, because grades or a diploma do not determine how much one has actually learned. Even at public community colleges, I see students getting much better grades than they deserve from other instructors all the time. Get it?